Lockout At Local Buildings Now A Strike

By Miriam Rosenberg Contributing Editor

By Miriam RosenbergContributing Editor

The lockout of workers at four buildings owned by Allied Properties LLC has turned into a strike.

The Union members from Local 32BJ who worked at 49-10 New Haven Road, 249 Beach 15 Street, 1403-1421 Heyson Road and 26-45 9th Street in Astoria were locked out of their jobs on July 14, when a new company bought the properties and hired new workers.

The union, contending that the company’s acts were in violation of the 2002 Displaced Building Service Worker Protection Act, filed an injunction against Allied Properties.

The act states that workers are protected for 90 days against layoffs after a building is sold or a new cleaning contractor is hired.

As The Wave last reported, an arbitration hearing was scheduled for September 10. According to union member Pedro Rodriquiz, Allied cancelled that hearing date.

“So far, they’ve offered us money but they don’t want the union inside [the buildings],” said Rodriquiz, outside the New Haven building. “They don’t want any of the old people inside if they are union.”

Rodriquiz believes that Allied is trying to break the union as, he says, the company did in other states.